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It's never too late to be whoever you want to be. Forty-nine-year-old Moksha Jetley lives by this philosophy. At an age when most women are settled comfortably into their lives, Moksha gathered the courage to make moves that she had been thinking about for for twenty years and changed her life completely. She chucked her job and headed to Manali to open an adventure company, Backn-Beyond Travels, which takes adventure enthusiasts on motorbiking expeditions to Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti. 'I never liked desk-bound jobs and put up with mine in the hospitality industry because I had to raise my daughter. When my daughter graduated, I decided to start my life all over again,' says Moksha. Moksha developed her love for motorbikes early in life.

As a child, she would vroom her father's scooter through the streets of Hoshiarpur and enjoy rides on friends' motorcycles. Marriage at age twenty wasn't the best decision and Moksha was a single mother not much later. In 2008, Moksha enrolled in a mountaineering course in Manali after her daughter graduated. After this, she worked for a while in Delhi, but eventually decided to move to Manali.

With no assets and very few savings, life was tough. Moksha survived the first few months in Manali by teaching English before she got her first motorbiking tour. In 2009, she led a British group to Spiti on a ten day biking tour.

Since then, there has been no looking back. Last year she went to Ladakh with an all women group from New Zealand, Germany and Austria. And, this year Moksha led six Indian men from Dubai to Ladakh. 'I feel so proud that I am the only Indian woman who leads such motorbiking expeditions to the Himalayas. People now write about me,' says Moksha laughingly.

Thirty-four-year-old Sheeja Mathews is the first woman to become a member of the Harley Owners Group, India. Before she acquired this high-end cruiser, she would ride her husband's Rajdoot 350cc. 'It was a pleasant surprise when the dealers told me that I am the first Indian woman to own a Harley Davidson. I didn't believe them until they called a press conference,' says Sheeja.

The Bangalore-based HR executive learned to ride a motorbike when she was barely fourteen. But she wasn't allowed to own one. 'My family didn't allow me to buy a motorbike. Luckily, I got married to a guy who shared the same passion. We would often go on long bike rides. After a while, I started riding his Rajdoot to work. Undoubtedly marriage enabled me to nurture my passion for bikes,' exclaims Sheeja.

When asked if Harley Davidson is her husband's choice, Sheeja retorts, 'Harley is my choice. My husband is into superbikes and rides Kawasaki Z1000. He rarely rides my bike.'

Apart from the admiration Sheeja's new toy receives from her neighbours, her biggest fan actually resides with her. Her seven-year-old son waits for his mom to come back from work to go for a ride. 'My son is my biggest fan. My friends recently told me that he teases his friends that their mothers can't even ride,' she laughs.

A few months ago Ela Johri rode across the hilly terrains of Leh and Ladakh from New Delhi, covering 2,668 kilometres in fifteen days. She was the only Indian woman along with 70 men and an American woman who took the eight edition of the Himalayan Odyssey organised by Royal Enfield Motorcycles.

This adventure enthusiast grew up playing cricket and volleyball and learned to ride the bike at the age of 14. Ela bought her first bike, Royal Enfield bullet 535 cc, when she got her first job. Being a part of The Chennai Trekking Club, Ela had ample opportunities to go on long bike rides. 'My first long ride was to the western ghats during which we rode upto an altitute of 3000 metres,' says the twenty-five-year-old financial analyst.

However, like most passionate bikers, she wanted to take her bike to the Himalayas and grabbed the opportunity when she met the person working for Royal Enfield. 'It was the perfect chance to ride on curvy mountain roads,' she says. Ela's journey took her through three mountain ranges and six passes to reach at the world's highest motorable road Khardung La, which is 18, 380 feet high. 'It's neither your riding skills nor your strength that takes you to the highest mountain pass, it's your mental attitude,' says Ela confidently.

The young lady feels you evolve both as a biker and as a person with such tough journeys. 'The ride takes place through muck, huge rocks, sand, intense vegetation and riverbeds. You keep hoping for a leveled ground. But after a few days of riding, you stop worrying. Surmounting the challenges of the rough terrains teaches you to keep your nerves,' she gushes.

A passionate biker who loves superbikes and stunting, Firdaus Shaikh has taken the step of setting up an association of female bikers called Bikerni with a close buddy Urvashi Patole. This September Bikerni organised the first all women bike ride to Leh-Ladakh, an event sponsored by Royal Enfield Motorcycles.

For the twenty-five-year-old Puneite, biking isn't a newly acquired passion. At age seven, Firdaus was riding her dad's Kinetic and as a teenager, she was zooming around on a Bajaj Pulsar bike. 'I finally convinced my mom to buy me a Bajaj Pulsar 180 cc when I turned 21,' says Firdaus, who works as a PR executive with an automobile firm.

For several years, Firdaus was part of biking and stunting clubs in Pune. Her love for bike stunting led her to the action-packed reality show MTV Stuntmania. However, stunting has taken a backseat since Firdaus began building Bikerni this January. The group already has about 30 members across India, carefully selected by Firdaus and Urvashi after going through applications and long telecons. 'We choose women who are passionate about biking because we want to make Bikerni an elitist women biker club in India,' says Firdaus.

Firdaus has big dreams for Bikerni. She wants to wipe out the misconception that women are not cut out for adventure. 'We want women to unleash their adventurous side through Bikerni,' says Firdaus.

It's never too late to be whoever you want to be. Forty-nine-year-old Moksha Jetley lives by this philosophy. At an age when most women are settled comfortably into their lives, Moksha gathered the courage to make moves that she had been thinking about for for twenty years and changed her life completely. She chucked her job and headed to Manali to open an adventure company, Backn-Beyond Travels, which takes adventure enthusiasts on motorbiking expeditions to Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti. 'I never liked desk-bound jobs and put up with mine in the hospitality industry because I had to raise my daughter. When my daughter graduated, I decided to start my life all over again,' says Moksha. Moksha developed her love for motorbikes early in life.

As a child, she would vroom her father's scooter through the streets of Hoshiarpur and enjoy rides on friends' motorcycles. Marriage at age twenty wasn't the best decision and Moksha was a single mother not much later. In 2008, Moksha enrolled in a mountaineering course in Manali after her daughter graduated. After this, she worked for a while in Delhi, but eventually decided to move to Manali.

With no assets and very few savings, life was tough. Moksha survived the first few months in Manali by teaching English before she got her first motorbiking tour. In 2009, she led a British group to Spiti on a ten day biking tour.

Since then, there has been no looking back. Last year she went to Ladakh with an all women group from New Zealand, Germany and Austria. And, this year Moksha led six Indian men from Dubai to Ladakh. 'I feel so proud that I am the only Indian woman who leads such motorbiking expeditions to the Himalayas. People now write about me,' says Moksha laughingly.

A passionate biker who loves superbikes and stunting, Firdaus Shaikh has taken the step of setting up an association of female bikers called Bikerni with a close buddy Urvashi Patole. This September Bikerni organised the first all women bike ride to Leh-Ladakh, an event sponsored by Royal Enfield Motorcycles.

For the twenty-five-year-old Puneite, biking isn't a newly acquired passion. At age seven, Firdaus was riding her dad's Kinetic and as a teenager, she was zooming around on a Bajaj Pulsar bike. 'I finally convinced my mom to buy me a Bajaj Pulsar 180 cc when I turned 21,' says Firdaus, who works as a PR executive with an automobile firm.

For several years, Firdaus was part of biking and stunting clubs in Pune. Her love for bike stunting led her to the action-packed reality show MTV Stuntmania. However, stunting has taken a backseat since Firdaus began building Bikerni this January. The group already has about 30 members across India, carefully selected by Firdaus and Urvashi after going through applications and long telecons. 'We choose women who are passionate about biking because we want to make Bikerni an elitist women biker club in India,' says Firdaus.

Firdaus has big dreams for Bikerni. She wants to wipe out the misconception that women are not cut out for adventure. 'We want women to unleash their adventurous side through Bikerni,' says Firdaus.